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February 3, 2021
Anthropology has a difficult, but important relationship with the U.S military. Fraught with ethical concerns, misunderstandings, and a deep history of mutual mistrust, the relationship is episodic. Military organizations reach out to anthropology and other fieldwork-focused social sciences every few decades when they feel these disciplines can assist them with some aspect of operations. In different roles across the services, social scientists worked to reshape policy, programs, and curricula, as well as the discourses surrounding the ideas of science and scientists. Of equal importance, they developed mutually educating relationships with military practitioners to help bridge the divide and, on a few occasions, improve the military’s ability to use social science results and expertise in ways that were effective and sustainable.
In this talk, Dr. Kerry Fosher will discuss the most recent cycle of engagement from the vantage point of her own work, predominantly with the Marine Corps, but also across all the services. She will address some of the efforts to create broader impact, the obstacles she encountered in the military and in anthropology, and successes and failures.
Dr. Fosher is a socio-cultural anthropologist who focuses on U.S. national security organizations. She is the director of research for Marine Corps University. Her current research examines how the U.S. Marine Corps understands and uses social science research results and expertise.
LINK: : http://bit.ly/drkerryfosher